Jim Gabriel Jr. spoke with Leon Andrus about the Modified he showed this past weekend. Rob Wilcox recapped his season in an IMCA Modified at Black Rock and his racing past. Jamie Page tells Leon Andrus about the coming season at I-88 Speedway including one big show.

It is about to get real busy in the racing world and this coming weekend we’ll take another step towards that as Motorsports Expo invades the New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse. The Gater show runs this Saturday and Sunday and we hope to see you all there.

If you are putting your car in the show, please email me at doug@dougsdirtdiary.com and we can tell folks about it and help promote the show at the same time. And I’ll be talking with Joe Patrick from Gater soon to get you up to speed on this important event.

I hope you like the three chats on the site today and once again a big thanks goes out to Leon Andrus for all his help at Southern Tier Speedworld. And for other announcer types out there, the door is open if you’d like to give it a try. See me this weekend or email me and we can discuss it.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who had a smile ear to ear on Saturday in Johnson City. Jim Gabriel Jr. spoke with Leon Andrus about the Modified he showed this past weekend. He talked about a return to a previous chassis manufacturer, how badly he struggled last season and how excited he is to get dirty at the track.

Rob Wilcox recapped his season in an IMCA Modified at Black Rock and his racing past. He talked about what he learned about these tricky racecars, why he updated to a newer chassis and the importance of set ups.

Jamie Page tells Leon Andrus about the coming season at I-88 Speedway including one big show. He talked about his hopes to get some new faces in the stands, the big finale they have planned and a big upgrade they did to the scoring system.

Brian Sage talks about his 2012 season and the brand new chassis he’ll put together real soon. Jake Maynard remembers his season in an IMCA and explained why they made a chassis change. Dick Stark previews the coming season at Thunder Mountain and talks about a new addition. Scott Seward told fans how to get pictures from him and some new collections he has acquired.

I had a real good weekend and I hope you all did too. After I type up this front page entry, I have an interview to do with a Pennsylvania Modified driver and then after that my oldest and I will catch some of the NASCAR race from Phoenix, one of my favorite tracks on the circuit. I know…I don’t like any of the tracks that most do.

And if you missed it, Saturday the new road course in Austin Texas hosted the Rolex Sports Car Series and it looked like amazing. If you see a repeat of it on SPEED, I urge you to check it out.

Of course you guys know I have always followed road racing and race it frequently online. This new 20 turn Circuit of the Americas is a world class facility that could change road course racing in this country and it rivals any of the other racetracks that have been built recently.

And be sure to come back tomorrow as we’ll hear from Jim Gabriel Jr., Rob Wilcox and I-88 Speedway’s Jamie Page. All three of them will be up as well as the Modified driver I spoke with Sunday afternoon.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who is really looking forward to 2013 and his first Mod win. Brian Sage talks about his 2012 season and the brand new chassis he’ll put together real soon. He told me how close he came to getting his first ever Modified win, what he plans to do this season and why he does not want to race too much too early.

Jake Maynard remembers his season in an IMCA and explained why they made a chassis change. He told me how he did compared to other rookies in the division, his hopes to travel a little more this year and what they learned along the way.

Dick Stark previews the coming season at Thunder Mountain and talks about a new addition to the schedule. He told Leon Andrus how much he is looking forward to the new season, why he is adding a small car program and how tough it can be to get young people to the stands.

Scott Seward told fans how to get pictures from him and some new collections he has acquired. He talked about the most cost effective way to get them and how purchasing negatives expands his base. To get ahold of him, email him at myphotobysjs@yahoo.com and to view come of his work go to www.myphotobysjs.smugmug.com.

Glenn Knapp explained why he had to take some time off at mid season due to an injury.Andrew Harpell looked ahead to the ROC opener in two weeks and the Five Mile Point opener.Dean Hoag previews the coming season at the Black Rock Speedway as their opener gets closer. Leon Andrus talks about the racetracks he announces at as he looks around at the big mall show. Gary Smith won the last two IMCA Modified championships at I-88 and tells Leon about them. Tanner Harpell remembered his season in an IMCA Modified and what he learned in the car.

I had a blast yesterday as I traveled with dad to Southern Tier Speedworld in Johnson City at the Oakdale Mall. If you have not yet been, you have one more day today to get down there and see all the racecars as the start of the 2013 gets closer for all of us.

I took a bunch of photos and all of those are up as well as a bin from George Stiegerwalt Jr. who was at the Reading Mall Care Show. I also was able to save an additional nine conversations that myself and Leon Andrus did on Saturday. And a big thanks goes out to Leon for all his help. You’ll hear more from both of us over the next few days.

Today I will be back in the studio and back at it again. I also have an interview I did on my day off with Brian Sage and that one will be up tomorrow with a few more from my Saturday jaunt.

Again, if you have not been to Southern Tier Speedworld, then go and be sure to show your support with a purchase or two from the stores inside. We bought a few things including some chocolate for my wife who was at my folks home with mom. That allowed dad to come with me so thanks goes out to her as well.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who had a tough season last year. Glenn Knapp explained why he had to take some time off at mid season due to an injury.He told me what happened,how long he was out for and some issues he had along the way with his motor.

Andrew Harpell looked ahead to the ROC opener in two weeks and the Five Mile Point opener. He also talked about some changes he is planning on for the Saturday night track as he looked over the cars at Southern Tier Speedworld.

Dean Hoag previews the coming season at the Black Rock Speedway as their opener gets closer. He talked about what he saw at Southern Tier Speedworld and some dates he is excited about.

Leon Andrus talks about the racetracks he announces at as he looks around at the big mall show. He spoke about I-88, Five Mile Point and later does some interviews for us to listen to.

Gary Smith won the last two IMCA Modified championships at I-88 and tells LeonAndrus all about them. He also talked about his new teammate and wondered what will happen when they run first & second.

Tanner Harpell remembered his season in an IMCA Modified and what he learned in the car. He talked about how close his car is to being race ready, described some work they did in the off season and how well they did as the season rolled on.

Derrick Podsiadlo remembered his season at Canandaigua and talked about the work he's doing now. Kevan Cook thinks back on his 15 win season and talks about some tough luck at season’s end. Zach Amo tells me why he will drive a Small Block Super Modified on the asphalt at Oswego.

The weekend is here and we are back with three real good ones for you today. And we will be hitting the road later today so look for more later on today. We have a nice diverse line up for you today too with drivers from three different divisions and two different surfaces.

For those of you who will be at Southern Tier Speedworld, I should be there just past lunch time and will be looking to chat with as many drivers as possible. So look for me and be ready to chat as the 2013 season gets closer and closer for more and more of us.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a requested interview from the Rochester area. Derrick Podsiadlo remembered last season at Canandaigua and talked about the work he is doing now. He told me the keys to getting around the slick half mile track, how often you need to do a rebuild on the rear end and a change of focus concerning set ups.

Kevan Cook thinks back on his 15 win season and talks about some tough luck at season’s end. He talked about each of his weekly homes, how he wrecked twice in less that 24 hours and how a championship slipped away from on the final points night.

Zach Amo tells me why he will drive a Small Block Super Modified on the asphalt at Oswego. He talked about his last few seasons on dirt, what he is doing to get the new car ready and what research he has done online to learn how to drive this historic track.

Billy Colton talks about the Open House and Chassis Seminars this weekend at Troyer Racecars.Cody Bleau ran down the rides he has set up for this year at Albany Saratoga and Fonda Speedways. Megan Allen recapped her three Micro Sprint races from East Bay and the troubles on night one.

As you can see we were busy yesterday as we recorded a total of six new interviews. You’ll get half of those today and the other half will come your way on Saturday. As of now it looks like I’ll be at Southern Tier Speedworld on Saturday but things could change. I’ll keep you posted.

We also wanted to remind you guys about what is going on this weekend at Troyer Race Cars in Rochester. I have been to the open house on many occasions and once sat in the back of the chassis seminar. I can tell you that both of these events will teach you something and I highly encourage you to come out.

Plus we chat with a driver who has a couple of new deals for the year and a young lady who just got in her first races of the year down in Florida. This is my favorite part of the off season as things are starting to get real about now. So be sure to come back tomorrow for chats with Derrick Podsiadlo, Zach Amo and Kevan Cook.

Now let’s chat more about what we have for you today on the Audio Page. I begin with more on a big event taking place tomorrow and Sunday. Billy Colton talks about the Open House and Chassis Seminars this weekend at Troyer Racecars. He encouraged racers to come out Saturday night to see the factory floor, described some changes to the chassis seminar for Sunday and recalled how his Modifieds did down in Florida. There are only a few spots left for Sunday so call 585-352-5590 now!

Cody Bleau ran down the rides he has set up for this year at Albany Saratoga and Fonda Speedways. He told me how each of the deals came about, wondered how much he will race his own #73 and looks forward to getting some extra shock help this season.

Megan Allen recapped her three Micro Sprint races from East Bay and the troubles on night one. She told me how she reacts to the tough nights, described what it was like coming to this event for the second time and looks forward to some more road trips as well.

Billy Pauch Jr. runs down his plans for Modified & Sprints and talked about differences in tires. Kenny Hammond talked about his two win season at Skyline and remembers his motorcycle days.

It was a nice day on Wednesday as I got a lot of work done in the studio and wrote up another story in the Syracuse Post Standard. When I worked on a daily talk show at WCNY, we liked to take national stories and make them local. So I did the same here with the Daytona crash and reminded folks about some similar incidents here in New York State. Check it out. I hope you like it.

But I didn’t forget about the northeast stuff either as I have a pair of interviews with drivers that both drive different cars. Both are real good as I got a couple of real good talkers to chat with me on Wednesday. Plus I have a bunch of things I need to get done today too so be sure to come back for more.

And I was trying to figure out which day would be better for me to go to Southern Tier Speedworld. Would Friday or Saturday be better? What do you think? Send me your thoughts at doug@dougsdirtdiary.com and I’ll do what you guys want.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with a man who is changing things up a bit this year. Billy Pauch Jr. runs down his plans for Modified & Sprints and talked about differences in tires. He talked about getting to do more winged shows this season, looks forward to hitting some new tracks and remembers the one time he felt a lot of pressure behind the wheel at a big asphalt race.

Kenny Hammond talked about his two win season at Skyline and remembers his motorcycle days. He told me why he eventually got a cage around himself, the new chassis he is working on right now and runs down his plans for 2013. And don’t miss the open house at Hunts Auto Service in Ithaca on March 16th from 11-4PM.

Ernie Saxton talks about Daytona, the big crash, the increased ratings and much, much more. Casey Williams tells me about his new chassis in the shop and the new addition back home.

It was a nice day on Tuesday and we continue today to dissect the NASCAR race from the weekend and talks with a Modified driver who had something pretty cool happen a few weeks ago.

I highly encourage you to listen to my chat with Ernie Saxton as he is really on top of this NASCAR stuff. And we go all over the place in this one as I try to ask all the questions you guys would want answers to.

Today I’ll be back in the studio and back talking g to the people who make our sport happen. I’m always looking for requests and actually the Casey Williams interview was a request so if I missed your favorite driver, let me know with an email to doug@dougsdirtdiary.com.

Now let’s chat more about what is new for today on the Audio Page. I begin with more analysis from the biggest stock car race of the year with someone who knows that world very well indeed. Ernie Saxton talks about Daytona, the big crash, the increased ratings and much, much more. He told me what he thought about one particular rookie driver who got a top ten, what can be done to make the racing safer and why short track racing took a hit earlier in the week. Great stuff as always with Ernie!

Casey Williams tells me about his new chassis in the shop and the new addition back home. He talked about how his thinking changed the moment his wife gave birth to a girl, the bonus he received at the Teo Chassis Seminar and how much he hopes this change will improve his chances at a win this season.

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